# Brian Williams Helicopter story: blowhard BS, but not a fireable offense **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 6, 2015, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953 "2015-02-06T07:09:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/181 "2015-02-16T17:45:37Z")
> [@spifflog](#): > > YMMV on this, and reasonable people can disagree. > > But as I stated, there have been two times in the military where I said to myself “f\*\*k, I’m not going to make it out of this.” And I remember these things like they were yesterday. And I really don’t believe that I’d confuse those moments with others that were “merely” stressful. No disrespect intended, but of you have confused those memories, how would you know? ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/182 "2015-02-16T18:27:12Z")
For some reason, the point made earlier by **Frylock** seems to have been subsequently overlooked. It might well be that if you’ve been in this type of life-threatening experience you would not misremember or confuse it with anything else, etc. etc. But the question here is whether if you had not been in this type of life-threatening experience, whether you might misremember or confuse it with a life-threatening one. Because that’s the question in the case of BW. People who keep discussing actual life-threatening situations seem to be missing this point. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/183 "2015-02-16T21:25:05Z")
Brian Williams’ name should be struck from the history books. He should become an unperson. He wallows in the filth of lies and writhed in the sin of selfish pride. His ancestors should rise from the grave to bring him down back with them. He is a bad journalist, an unfit man, and a rotten human being. May his flesh be ripped top shreds by buzzards again and again throughout an eternity in hell. ---
**Author:** ![Oddball\_92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b3f665/32.png) [@Oddball\_92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oddball_92)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/184 "2015-02-17T00:50:21Z")
> [@davida03801](#): > > Blowhard BS. Yes > Fireable offense. No > Consider him a trustworthy source for news. No So it’s ok for someone who is not a trustworthy source for news to deliver the news??? I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/185 "2015-02-17T02:18:37Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Once again, [Tom Tomorrow nails it](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/16/1364355/-Cartoon-The-unreliable-narrator?detail=hide). > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > And so does [Ruben Bolling](http://www.gocomics.com/tomthedancingbug/2015/02/13). So those are different cartoon strips. (As Ludovic posts in the “obvious things you just realized about a work” thread.) ---
**Author:** ![Gerald\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Gerald\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gerald_II)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/186 "2015-02-17T02:35:18Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Once again, [Tom Tomorrow nails it](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/16/1364355/-Cartoon-The-unreliable-narrator?detail=hide). Good cartoon. How did this Brian Williams lying-about-his-experience story gain so much traction? I understand if his employers view the story as detrimental to their brand. However, who exactly is complaining about this and how did it get to be such a big story? What journalists should have been fired by their employers during the lead up to the Iraq invasion, and why? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/187 "2015-02-17T03:25:11Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > So those are different cartoon strips. (As Ludovic posts in the “obvious things you just realized about a work” thread.) They are. Bolling’s funny. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/188 "2015-02-17T23:23:04Z")
[And Ted Rall.](http://www.gocomics.com/tedrall/2015/02/17) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/189 "2015-02-17T23:24:23Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > So those are different cartoon strips. (As Ludovic posts in the “obvious things you just realized about a work” thread.) It’s easy to get them confused, both have “Tom” in them: Tom Tomorrow draws _This Modern World,_ Ruben Bolling draws _Tom the Dancing Bug._ ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/190 "2015-02-17T23:48:03Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > They are. Bolling’s funny. Yeah that first one was terrible. But Bolling’s was great! ---
**Author:** ![A\_nice\_guy\_with\_an\_opinion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/76d3ee/32.png) [@A\_nice\_guy\_with\_an\_opinion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_nice_guy_with_an_opinion)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/191 "2015-02-18T07:39:28Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > There are at least a couple of people posting in this thread that get their news almost exclusively from Fox News and Talk Radio. I wonder if they apply the same standards to those sources? If Fox fired everyone who told lies on the air, they’d be lucky to fill two hours of airtime a day. I agree. It’s time that Brian Williams brings back the real news. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/192 "2015-02-18T14:15:23Z")
Brian Williams’s other apologies (humor from a college friend of mine): [http://hothotphone.com/post/111305014579/brian-wiliams-other-apologies-a-lot-of-people-are#](http://hothotphone.com/post/111305014579/brian-wiliams-other-apologies-a-lot-of-people-are#) ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/193 "2015-02-18T22:19:49Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Brian Williams’s other apologies (humor from a college friend of mine): [http://hothotphone.com/post/111305014579/brian-wiliams-other-apologies-a-lot-of-people-are#](http://hothotphone.com/post/111305014579/brian-wiliams-other-apologies-a-lot-of-people-are#) > [@](#): > > And if NBC doesn’t bring me back, with my new credentials for fake news, I think I’d be the perfect replacement for Jon Stewart. Except not as smart or funny. However Jon might be the perfect replacement for Brian Williams, just more intelligent and honest. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/194 "2015-02-20T15:43:52Z")
Hm. [It now appears Bill O’Reilly](http://www.salon.com/2015/02/19/bill_oreillys_war_lies_exposed_how_the_cable_news_bloviator_exaggerated_his_war_zone_experience/) [has a similar problem to Brian Williams](http://www.salon.com/2015/02/20/bill_o%e2%80%99reillys_humiliating_bust_does_fox_news_have_guts_to_suspend_its_own_serial_exaggerator/). Only he won’t get fired or suspended for it, because, you know, Fox. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/195 "2015-02-20T16:03:23Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Hm. [It now appears Bill O’Reilly](http://www.salon.com/2015/02/19/bill_oreillys_war_lies_exposed_how_the_cable_news_bloviator_exaggerated_his_war_zone_experience/) [has a similar problem to Brian Williams](http://www.salon.com/2015/02/20/bill_o%e2%80%99reillys_humiliating_bust_does_fox_news_have_guts_to_suspend_its_own_serial_exaggerator/). Somehow, that’s less surprising. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/196 "2015-02-20T18:19:13Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Hm. [It now appears Bill O’Reilly](http://www.salon.com/2015/02/19/bill_oreillys_war_lies_exposed_how_the_cable_news_bloviator_exaggerated_his_war_zone_experience/) [has a similar problem to Brian Williams](http://www.salon.com/2015/02/20/bill_o%e2%80%99reillys_humiliating_bust_does_fox_news_have_guts_to_suspend_its_own_serial_exaggerator/). > > Only he won’t get fired or suspended for it, because, you know, Fox. Those are not “similar.” O’Reilly’s claims are questioned by inference. Williams’ were refuted by direct contraction by another witness. In other words, O’Reilly said, “I saw a combat situation” and the refutation is, “I don’t know of any American reporters who were in the combat arena.” Williams said, “I was on this specific helicopter and it was damaged by shrapnel,” and the refutation is, “I was on the same helicopter with you, and it wasn’t.” And of course, as I said from the beginning with Williams, I do not believe he deliberately lied. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/197 "2015-02-20T18:21:50Z")
Except O’Reilly’s defense has been to admit that he was not, in fact, in the Falkland Islands. He was in Buenos Aires, at a protest after the war had ended. So the question is whether or not he really could have thought that “combat zone” was a reasonable description for a major city, far from the combat, after the combat had ended. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/198 "2015-02-20T18:36:47Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > Except O’Reilly’s defense has been to admit that he was not, in fact, in the Falkland Islands. He was in Buenos Aires, at a protest after the war had ended. > > So the question is whether or not he really could have thought that “combat zone” was a reasonable description for a major city, far from the combat, after the combat had ended. I don’t know – did he address that in his admission? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/199 "2015-02-20T18:39:40Z")
IIRC, he played it like no reasonable person would question the description of unrest in Buenos Aires after the war as a “war zone” and that he was involved in “combat.” ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2015, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953/200 "2015-02-20T18:54:13Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > IIRC, he played it like no reasonable person would question the description of unrest in Buenos Aires after the war as a “war zone” and that he was involved in “combat.” Were there bullets flying? Were there people being killed? It’s a “war zone”. Not formally, no, but it definitely can be described as a “was zone”. As for “involved in combat” - can you give the exact O’Reilly quote? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brian-williams-helicopter-story-blowhard-bs-but-not-a-fireable-offense/711953.md?page=11)